Talk:Marauder's Map
Possessive form? What's wrong with it? The Map is a map to aid a Marauder in his (or potentially her), ergo a "Marauder's Map". The phrase "Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief Makers" would tend to give the impression that had circumstances been very different Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes would have had heavy competition in their struggle to obliterate Zonko's. HTH HAND —Phil | Talk 11:07, 7 January 2009 (UTC) : "The Marauders" is a plural term, referring to the group of students who created it (any subsequent student who might possess it is irrelevant). Since the subject is plural, the possessive needs to be, too; " 's" implies a single owner – s' is grammatically correct. --[[User:Cubs Fan2007|'Cubs Fan2007']] [[User talk:Cubs Fan2007|(Talk)]] 21:19, 7 January 2009 (UTC) :: You're not actually reading what I'm saying, are you… The Marauders themselves (or JKR on their behalf anyway) named it the "Marauder's Map" meaning "Map for use by a Marauder when Marauding", and waffling on about whether we might think it ought to be plural is completely irrelevant. What we ought to be saying is that it might appear to be a grammatical error but is what JKR intended to write so is correct nonetheless: not "we know better than JKR who has screwed up again". HTH HAND —Phil | Talk 21:30, 7 January 2009 (UTC) ::: A ha, I see what you're getting at now. I just have a knack for grammar mistakes, so I never considered the use of "Marauder's" that way. But that argument makes sense. --[[User:Cubs Fan2007|'Cubs Fan2007']] [[User talk:Cubs Fan2007|(Talk)]] 22:10, 7 January 2009 (UTC) :::: Thank you, I do my best. —Phil | Talk 22:16, 7 January 2009 (UTC) Marauder's Map How come the Marauder's Map doesn't posses the location of the Room of Requirements? Matty Bond 02:39, 16 May 2009 (UTC) : I think the RoR works in such a way that someone who uses it can restrict who else has access, through the wish of making the room Unplottable. --[[User:Cubs Fan2007|'Cubs Fan2007']] [[User talk:Cubs Fan2007|'(Talk to me)']] 05:40, 16 May 2009 (UTC) ::It could also be that the Marauders never found the RoR, despite the knowledge they had of the rest of the grounds. Mr Norrell 17:59, December 8, 2009 (UTC) Hogwarts is Unplottable Hold on, according to the Goblet of Fire, Hogwarts is enchanted to be Unplottable, meaning that you can't plot the school on a map. If so, how were the Marauders able to draw the map? 21:16, 25 May 2009 (UTC) Being Unplottable, Hogwarts can't be located in a map, that doesn't mean it can't be represented in a map. -- [[User:Seth Cooper|'Seth Cooper']] ([[User talk:Seth Cooper|'Owl Post']]) 21:45, 25 May 2009 (UTC) :Ah! It makes sense now, thanks! 22:44, 25 May 2009 (UTC) ::Plus magic work from the inside like the vanishing cabinets so it probobly work Up to No Good Also, it is unusual that a map that normally appears as a blank piece of parchment (as it would have appeared while in Filch's possession all those years) would so easily have let its secrets be uncovered by the twin Weasleys. There is no mention of how they learn to uncover and cover its secrets, something even Snape cannot do when he later caught Harry Potter in the hallways late at night. It would seem likely, or at least presumed likely, that the incantation to activate the map, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good", is something that Gred and Forge would actually attempt, even perhaps as a joke. Filch, being himself a Squib, might not have tried anything, though he proably had an idea that it was at least some sort of aid from the Marauders to manage their mischief, or else he would not have kept it. Are there any thoughts on this? :JKR revealed how Fred and George uncovered the Map's activating phrase in an interview. She said that when the twins experimented with the map, it helped them out, "flickering into life here and there" as they came close to the right words. ★ Starstuff (Owl me!) 21:59, 24 June 2009 (UTC) : :Also, you need to tap the map with your wand after saying the secret phrase. Filtch was unable to do this as he couldn't use a wand. Mv9435 (talk) 04:52, June 22, 2018 (UTC) Article needs attention I found answers to some common questions that come up regarding the Map. Does anyone want to work these into the article? *F.A.Q. question on JKRowling.com — why Fred and George didn't notice Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map, although he was at Hogwarts as Scabbers during the twin's first year, as he belonged to Percy before Ron *F.A.Q. question on JKRowling.com — how Prongs insulted Snape through the map despite being deceased *2004 World Book Day webchat and F.A.Q. question on JKRowling.com — how Harry got the Map back after Barty Crouch Jr. had it Also, the article needs some general clean-up and expansion, as there are gaps in the coverage, particularly in the "History" section. ★ Starstuff (Owl me!) 22:34, 24 June 2009 (UTC) More plot holes Okay, so it's really only one more hole. In Chapter Seventeen of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Professor Lupin said he watched the trio head to and from Hagrid's hut on the Map. However Professor Lupin should have seen two Harry Potters and Two Hermione Grangers, as they had traveled back in time via the Time-Turner. However, I will admit that if the map's view only extending to the Forbidden Forest and school entrances, it would be possible that Harry and Hermione would not have been plotted on the map. If you find this notable for the article, please add it. I'm no good at writing :( --64supernoob 17:37, 15 August 2009 (UTC) :It is possible that the Map could only render any single person a single time or it may only be able to show individuals that are in the same time frame as itself. Mr Norrell 18:09, December 8, 2009 (UTC) : :I had this same thought. There is also a similar problem with Fred/George never seeing Peter Pettigrew in Ron's bed. I don't know how this gets resolved. I have a hard time thinking the map was designed to recognize and filter out time travellers. (And if it wasn't, even if it for some reason only showed one person at a time -- why that Harry/Hermione?) :The only theory I've heard that makes a bit more sense is that perhaps the map has some sort of legilimancy-esque quality where it knows what you're looking for and shows it to you. So like if you're snwakingbthrousn the castle and want to know if the coast is clear, it shows you your immeeiqim surroundings. If you're looking for a way out, it'll show those. The other thing in favor of this theory is that the map would have to be a ginormous piece of parchment (or else the print would need incredibly tiny) for it to show the layout and inhabitants of all 7 floors at once. :This would explain why, if Lupin was keeping an eye on Hagrid's and saw them and followed them from there it perhaps didn't reveal others. What doesn't really comport with this is that in book 6, Harry had to scan the map to find Draco. So I think it's just a hole. Mv9435 (talk) 05:05, June 22, 2018 (UTC) Appearance in the Order of the Phoenix film When is it seen? -Smonocco 16:29, 26 August 2009 (UTC) :That's what I was going to ask. I don't recall seeing it and I've watched that movie like five or six times. --'Dr. James' (4 8 15 16 23 42) 05:45, September 27, 2009 (UTC) ::I think Nigel might have been holding it when the D.A. left the Room of Requirement -Smonocco 10:12, September 27, 2009 (UTC) ::Is Nigel really holding the Marauder's Map? --ÈnŔîčö DC (Send me an Owl!) 00:11, October 29, 2009 (UTC) :::It doesn't look like the Map to me. -- GrouchMan (Send an owl then scram!!) 00:13, October 29, 2009 (UTC) ::::Hmmm. Check this picture. In this scene, we have a very sleepy Filch sitting around the corner (not seen in the picture) and Nigel both looking in the corner and staring at that piece of paper, while simultaniously waving for the DA members to leave the room. I guess it really is the Marauder's Map, or why else would be Nigel looking at a piece of paper in those circunstances? -- [[User:Seth Cooper| Seth Cooper ]][[User talk:Seth Cooper| owl post!]] 00:32, October 29, 2009 (UTC) ::::Yeah, i got it. Probably to be sure that there's no other Hogwarts staff or other students on their way, and Nigel was appointed on that task. =) --ÈnŔîčö DC (Send me an Owl!) 01:54, October 29, 2009 (UTC) Game Maps Would game-related maps be fittable to post here? Anticipating the questions, no I don't have them. :( I know that PS1 version of Chamber of Secrets has Hogwarts map in it, I think PC version has that as well, and the PS2 version has it. I think that PS1 version Philosopher's Stone may also have Hogwarts map, as well as the PC version. Heck! I think most the versions have some kind of maps before Goblet of Fire (excluding GoF as we know it's a stupid game).—Kaimi ( /5 TP) 13:55, June 18, 2012 (UTC) Plot hole I saw this point raised on another site and thought I'd bring it up here in case anyone has any answers. We know the map shows the real name of an animagi even if the animagi is transformed, as it did with Peter. However, in all the time the twins had the map, with Ron at school with them, they never mentioned the fact that, every night, there were two labels in Ron's dormitory: Ron's own, and Peter. Perhaps they simply never bothered looking in every room like Harry did when he was thinking about Ginny, but this seems like an odd thing for Rowling to have skipped over, especially considering the twins had the map before the trio ever came to Hogwarts. Has she ever answered this question anywhere, thus making it a moot point, or is it still a plot hole that's yet to be tackled? 05:40, February 14, 2013 (UTC) :I'm pretty sure this has been addressed before, and the answer was this-- the twins only used the map for mischief-making, not to peep at their brother while he was sleeping in his dormitory. Answer-- they never saw Ronald Weasley and Peter Pettigrew on the map because they never checked the map for this purpose. ProfessorTofty (talk) 05:44, February 14, 2013 (UTC) :Something else is that characters not being attentive or missing something obvious is not a plot hole, it is just the character not as smart as you. --[[User:SnorlaxMonster|'Snorlax']][[User talk:SnorlaxMonster|'Monster']] 08:49, February 14, 2013 (UTC) :::A new theory: The Marauders Map uses the Homonculous Charm to keep track of every person in the surrounding area. The charm covered “the caretaker’s cat, Mrs Norris”. It did not distinguish between Barty Crouch Senior and Junior, and Harry did not find out the real name of Peeves the Poltergeist. Importantly, the map knows to use the Animagus names of Lupin, Black, Pettigrew and James Potter. So the names are not taken from an official register. A cat’s name is unregistered and Pettigrew was believed to be dead. So, the map appears to be taking what people are called by. So how to distinguish between “Mrs Norris” and say, an ordinary mouse. Well, as the mouse has no name, it’s not put on the map. That would save putting every living creature on the map. Most animals don’t have a name. This explanation could also solve this alleged plot hole: Why did Fred and George not see that Peter Pettigrew was next to their younger brother all the time. The answer could be that the map displayed “Scabbers”, what he was called, until Sirius Black escaped into the Forbidden Forest, and started calling Scabbers by his real name with sufficient determination, that map then adjusted. David Lat (talk) 20:37, May 5, 2017 (UTC) ::Incorrect, I'm afraid. Animagi are labelled by their real names and Scabbers was, indeed, labeled "Peter Pettigrew" that whole time -- the twins just never noticed that single unfamiliar name among the hundreds of little dots moving around the map. You can read Rowling's clarification here. -- [[User:Seth Cooper| Seth Cooper ]][[User talk:Seth Cooper| owl post!]] 00:29, May 6, 2017 (UTC) ::Y'know, I had ''wondered about that myself. I mean, Peter/Scabbers was Percy's old rat, before Ron had him. So "Peter Pettigrew" would have appeared in the Gryffindor dormitories the entire time Fred and George were there - first with Percy, later with Ron. And I kinda wondered why no one would've ever noticed. But the explanation above makes perfect sense - they just didn't pay much attention to that particular thing, because they would've had no reason to know Pettigrew's name. DrachenRitter42 (talk) 21:22, September 26, 2017 (UTC) :: ::JK has answered this, but IMO it wasn't a very good answer https://web.archive.org/web/20070219142247/https://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=65. :::"It would not have mattered if they had. Unless somebody was very familiar with the story of Sirius Black (and after all, Sirius was not Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's best friend – indeed, they never knew him until after he escaped from Azkaban), Fred and George would be unlikely to know or remember that Peter Pettigrew was the person Sirius had (supposedly) murdered. Even if Fred and George HAD heard the story at some point, why would they assume that the 'Peter Pettigrew' they occasionally saw moving around the map was, in fact, the man murdered years before?'' ::: :::Fred and George used the map for their own mischief-making, so they concentrated, naturally enough, on those portions of the map where they were planning their next misdeeds. And finally, you must not forget that hundreds of little dots are moving around this map at any given time… Fred and George did not know everyone in school by name, so a single unfamiliar name was unlikely to stand out." ::This doesn't really answer the question though because you don't need to be able to recognize the name to wonder why some strange guy is in your dorm. (Which only has 5 people to a room.) This is especially true since Percy (who owned the rat before Ron) was a perfect while Fred and George had the map for several years and Fred and George would have wanted to look out for him. (As in avoid him.) Mv9435 (talk) 05:14, June 22, 2018 (UTC) Owner? Who is the owner of the map in the 21st century???????? Is it James or Albus? (Slytherin Forever 016 (talk) 19:57, June 7, 2016 (UTC)) Jo said in an interview with Bloomsbury in 2007 that even though she doesn't think Harry gave it to any of his children, she thinks "James sneaked it out of his father's desk one day". Things might have changed since then, but until Jo confirms it, James has it! :) -- User:EmilyMills22 (talk) 20:00, June 7, 2016 (UTC) And do you know who owns Harry's Invisability Cloak? Lilly, Albus or James? (Slytherin Forever 016 (talk) 22:42, June 8, 2016 (UTC)) Jo has not yet said who owns the cloak now. I have heard the play mentions it but we will have to wait until we get a copy of the script book to confirm who has it! :) --User:EmilyMills22 (talk) 23:31, June 8, 2016 (UTC) Duplication Would the duplication spell work on the map? StormLover01 (talk) 23:42, July 8, 2019 (UTC) :No reason it shouldn't, unless the Marauders spelled their Map against it in particular. Whether the duplicate of a magical item would be itself magical, as opposed to a mundane piece of paper, is however the subject of much dispute.--Scrooge MacDuck (talk) 09:40, July 9, 2019 (UTC)